Russell Wilson returned to the Seattle lineup on Sunday in a game against Green Bay. His return didn’t go so well as the Seahawks never made it to the end zone in a 17-0 shutout loss to the Packers. With the loss, Seattle drops to 3-6 and sits in last place in the very competitive NFC West. The Seahawks’ playoff hopes are dim, but they are still mathematically in the game.
With Seattle looking like it will sit at home this playoff season, it begs the question “Will Wilson and Seattle head coach Pete Carroll ever win another Super Bowl?”
YES
First off, this is Russell Wilson we’re talking about. In his nine seasons previous to 2021, Wilson was 107-52-1 overall. He has taken the Seahawks to two Super Bowls – 48 and 49 – and has won one. It can be argued that if not for a certain play call that Wilson and his Seahawks teammates would have had a second Super Bowl ring in 2014.
Sure, Seattle hasn’t been back to the Super Bowl since, but Wilson has guided Seattle to winning seasons every year he has been the team’s starter. Last season, Seattle went 12-4 and won the NFC West. Don’t forget, the Seahawks did that while playing atrocious defense for the half of the season.
The recipe has always been there for Carroll and the Seahawks. A team built around a sound defense, a solid running game, and a game-changing quarterback is the type of team that can get to and win Super Bowls. Carroll has built Seattle into just that and the Seahawks have only missed the playoffs once (2017) with Wilson at quarterback.
NO
The defense is not the Legion of Boom; that’s for sure. Seattle gives up over 400 yards of offense a game this year. That ranks 31st in the league. Carroll had issues last year for the first half of the season. The game has changed a little and defenses like Carroll’s are playing catch up. Because Seattle hasn’t caught up yet, they aren’t going to compete with defenses like Buffalo, Green Bay, and others.
Wilson is 32 years old. Quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are playing into their late 30s and early 40s, but for the first time in his career Wilson missed a start this season. He had to have surgery on a finger and missed three games. Can Wilson maintain his health long enough to capture another Super Bowl?
Can Wilson last long enough for Carroll to assemble a defense capable of slowing down opposing offenses? Here’s the harsh reality of the whole thing. No head coach/quarterback duo has returned to the Super Bowl and won more than five seasons after their first trip. Bill Belichick and Brady returned to the Super after five seasons but lost. So did Tom Landry and Roger Staubach who fell victim to the same fate.
Only three quarterbacks – Brady, Staubach, and Peyton Manning – have won two Super Bowl titles more than five years apart. Numerous head coaches have returned to the Super Bowl after a five-year break, but only one has returned and won – Bill Cowher, but he had two different quarterbacks.
If there were betting odds as to whether the two will win another SB together I would bet NO all the way up to -1000
